The Five Scarves - Scarves Heist Part 2
by RaceProUK
Summary: (Book 3 of 3, Part 2 of 5) It's the biggest heist in Avalician history! With the support of Mayor Zao's army, the Red Scarves launch an assault on Relic Maze to steal the Kingdom Stone, and the Five Scarves are on the front lines!
1. Chapter 1

[The Kingdom Stone Heist: T-3 days. Location: Shuigang Snowfields; Dreadnought crash site]

Maria, Danny, and Xander cruise through the Snowfields, trike engines humming smoothly. Without warning, Maria, leading the group, halts abruptly: Danny and Xander have to swerve to avoid crashing.

"What on Avalice are you doing, Maria?" Xander growls in frustration.

"There's a _huge_ shooting star in the sky!" Maria answers. "Don't you think it's pretty?"

"It's too low to be a shooting star," Danny cautions.

"Aw, you're such a spoilsport," Maria retorts.

The shooting star slams hard into the ravine the track runs alongside. The trio dive for cover as rocks, soil, and uprooted vegetation is sprayed into the air, re-emerging only once the debris has settled.

"Let's go check it out," Danny suggests. The trio return to their trikes, clear the rubble from them, and head back the way they came. They halt near the edge of a cliff overlooking the object's resting place, where they dismount and lay down at the cliff edge.

"That's _big_ ," Maria breathes in disbelief.

"What on Avalice _is_ it?" Xander asks.

"I think the better question is 'What _off_ Avalice is it?'" Danny corrects.

"OK then," Xander sighs, "what _off_ Avalice is it?"

"It's a spaceship," Danny answers.

"A _spaceship_ ," Maria repeats, amazed.

"Where did it come from?" Xander asks.

"That bike shop in Zao's shopping mall," Danny quips, deadpan.

"Very funny," Xander sighs.

"Do you think there are any survivors?" Maria asks.

"I doubt it," Danny responds. "Just look at the trail of devastation it left when it hit the ground."

"Then who's that, standing on top of the ship?" Xander points out.

Danny looks to where Xander is pointing, spotting the silhouette of a large caped figure.

"Who _is_ that?" he asks.

"You're the one with all the answers," Xander replies.

"Not this time."

"How much longer are you guys going to argue?" Maria interrupts, annoyed.

"Why, do you know-" Danny begins to ask, halting when Maria punches him hard in the shoulder.

"It was rhetorical," she growls.

"The caped guy's disappeared," Xander interrupts.

"Fancy a quick look around, see what we can steal and sell on?" Maria asks.

Danny checks the perimeter of the crashed spaceship through his binoculars. "Want to take on an army of hundreds of robots?" he replies.

Maria takes a look through her binoculars. "Maybe some other day," she mutters.

"We should get out of here before we're spotted," Danny advises. "It'll be a bit difficult to meet up with the lovebirds if we're captured or dead."

"Do they know we're coming?" Xander asks. "And when did we arrange to meet them?"

"No, and five seconds ago," Danny confirms. "I figure they'll be interested in what we've seen tonight."

"So long as I get to tell them!" Maria demands.

"Knock yourself out," Danny assures.

"If I did that, you'd have to carry me home," Maria quips.

"No, I meant… ah, I see what you did there," Danny sighs in amusement. "Come on."

As the trio flees the scene, they see a small green shuttlecraft fly overhead, heading in the direction of Shuigang.

"Looks like the caped guy's off to get help," Danny remarks.

"You sure about that?" Maria asks. "That's one mean army he's left behind. Plus, that shuttlecraft looks nasty."

"He's just making sure no-one nicks his stuff while he's out, that's all," Danny theorises, but he doesn't sound totally convinced.


	2. Chapter 2

[The Kingdom Stone Heist: T-2 days. Location: Rage Ravine; Hanna & Rob's house; Den]

" _The Kingdom Stone?_ " Hanna exclaims in surprise.

"Yes, the Kingdom Stone," Rob confirms.

"Does Spade have _any_ idea how _well_ that thing is guarded?"

"I'm sure he does, but that won't stop him."

"Who's the client?"

"Mayor Zao."

" _Mayor Zao?_ "

"I _really_ need to fix the cause of that echo…" Rob mutters; Hanna fixes Rob with a look of amused annoyance. "Yes, Mayor Zao," he continues, "Apparently, the reward for a successful mission is _big_."

"How big?"

"Enough to mean we'd not have to work for a whole year. Anyway, why are you pretending to be cautious? You've already decided you'll be part of the mission."

"What makes you think that?"

"We'll be helping to steal the Kingdom Stone. Would you really pass up such a thrilling mission?"

"Of course not! I'm just surprised Zao's the one behind the whole thing."

"The Scarves wouldn't be able to succeed on our own: Zao's providing his army."

"I didn't think the energy crisis in Shang Mu was _that_ bad?"

"Must be if he's after the Stone."

A knock on the door prevents any further discussion. Rob gets up to see who it is.

"Are we expecting company?" Hanna asks.

Rob checks through the peephole. "No, but would you turn away Maria, Danny, and Xander?"

"Yes," Hanna jokes.

Rob opens the door. Maria bursts through as soon as the gap's large enough, Danny and Xander following at a more leisurely pace.

"So eager for me to beat you again?" Hanna teases.

"No time for that," Maria replies, barely able to contain her excitement. "We've got _big_ news!"

"That's a coincidence," Rob adds as he closes the door. "We've got big news too."

"The Kingdom Stone Heist is on then?" Danny asks.

"So much for secrecy," Rob sighs.

"To be fair, Maria uncovered Mayor Zao's plan two days ago," Danny informs. "Still, never thought we'd really be going after it."

"Aw, now my news doesn't seem so special," Maria pouts comically.

"Tell us anyway," Hanna requests.

"OK!" Maria squeaks, bounding into the chair. "You know that meteorite that landed in the Snowfields yesterday?"

"Barely," Rob responds. "The news was rather more focussed on the murder of the King of Shuigang. The item covering the meteorite was an afterthought."

"It's not a meteorite," Maria continues.

"Then what is it?" Hanna asks.

Maria grins wildly. "It's a _spaceship!_ "


	3. Chapter 3

"A _spaceship?_ " Hanna and Rob ask in unison and surprise.

"A really _big_ one!" Maria confirms. "Guarded by _robots_!"

"We saw this huge caped guy as well," Danny adds. "He flew off to Shuigang to get help. Well, that's what we assume, anyway."

"Hmm," Rob mutters.

"Something the matter?" Danny asks.

"No, not at all. It's just an odd coincidence that a spaceship crashed the same day the King of Shuigang was killed. And to hear there was at least one crash survivor, and they went to Shuigang… Seems a little suspicious, don't you think?" Rob theorises.

"Why would a spaceship captain go to Shuigang and kill the King?" Hanna asks.

"Honestly?" Rob replies. "No idea. Just seems like a really odd coincidence, that's all."

"Then shush so Maria can finish her story," Hanna requests.

"Actually, that's all of it," Maria sighs.

"Really?"

"I _told_ you it wasn't special," Maria mutters, staring at her shoes.

"You're right," Hanna confirms in jest.

Maria throws a cushion, hitting Hanna in the face. "Next time, I'll throw my tanto," she jokes, poking her tongue out playfully.

"Would you two like a drink, or will each other's blood suffice?" Rob asks cheekily.

* * *

With a round of drinks served, Maria in the chair, Rob sharing the sofa with Hanna, and Danny and Xander seated on a couple of foldaway chairs, they discuss the Kingdom Stone Heist.

"So, let me get the straight," Danny summarises. "Mayor Zao is employing the services of the Red Scarves to help his army steal the Kingdom Stone from the most thoroughly defended location on Avalice, all simply to secure his re-election? Even though it'd leave both Shang Tu _and_ Shuigang totally without energy?"

"Pretty much, yeah," Rob confirms.

"Dail and the Magister won't be happy…"

"Dail's a little pre-occupied finding his father's murderer. And by the time the Magister finds out, we'll be long gone."

"Not worried he'll track you down?"

"Scarves HQ is on his doorstep, more or less, and he's never made any moves against it."

"Aw, sounds so exciting, shame I'll miss it," Maria sighs, staring at her shoes again.

"Shall I tell her?" Rob asks Hanna.

"Tell her what?" Hanna replies.

"That we've _all_ been asked to join the heist?" Rob continues; Maria's ears prick attentively.

"It'll make her happy," Hanna adds.

"So, shall I tell her?" Rob asks again, barely able to hide his grin.

"Nah," Hanna answers after a moment's faked thought, also grinning. Her punishment for teasing Maria is another cushion in the face; Rob gets one too.

"You guys are so mean to me," Maria sighs in fake sorrow, her grin belying her excitement.


	4. Chapter 4

[The Kingdom Stone Heist: T-1 day. Location: Rage Ravine; Hanna & Rob's house; Garage]

"Huh," Hanna mutters as she mounts her ATV.

"What's up?" Rob asks, looking up from checking Hanna's tyre pressures.

"Never thought I'd feel… _nervous_."

"Well, this will be our biggest and most dangerous mission yet."

"That, and I don't exactly have happy memories of the last time I was at that temple…"

"It's not too late to back out, if you're not comfortable. Spade will understand."

"Back out?" Hanna asks, surprised by Rob's suggestion.

"Knew you wouldn't," Rob winks.

* * *

[Location: Jade Creek; Maria, Danny & Xander's house; Garage]

"Come on guys! Hurry, hurry, _hurry_!" Maria chirps impatiently, revving the engine of her trike.

"Take it easy, Maria!" Danny assures with a smile, firing up his trike. "We'll get there on time!"

"We won't if Xander doesn't get out here _right now!_ "

"I'm looking for my keys!" Xander calls from the den.

"Checked on your belt?" Danny calls back.

Xander doesn't respond. A moment later, he joins Maria and Danny. Danny waits for Xander's explanation while Maria stifles her giggling.

"OK, OK, they _were_ on my belt," Xander admits with a sigh. "Can we just get going now?"

* * *

[Location: Red Scarves HQ]

"So, now you know everything," Spade concludes. "You know the risks, but you also know the potential rewards. I understand that not all of you may wish to participate. If you want to back out, you may do so now, no questions asked." Spade pauses, waiting to see who will back out.

Not one of the assembled Scarves moves.

"Good," Spade continues. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I have some… private matters to attend to."

As Spade leaves, the assembled Scarves start to disperse. Hanna, Rob, Maria, Danny, and Xander remain seated as a group.

"That did nothing to calm my nerves," Hanna sighs.

"Aw, is mean old Hanna scared?" Maria teases.

"No, it's just…" Hanna responds, tailing off, unwilling to complete the sentence.

"It's just what?" Maria asks. A moment later, she remembers how Hanna came to join the Scarves. "Oh. Sorry."

"Don't worry about it," Hanna assures.

"I'll admit," Danny interrupts, "I'm feeling a touch nervous too."

"I think it's safe to say we all are," Rob concludes. "This isn't just another mission: we'll be helping to steal the lifeblood of the three kingdoms, the Kingdom Stone itself. There's no telling what hazards we may face…"


	5. Chapter 5

[The Kingdom Stone Heist: T-0. Location: Approaching Relic Maze]

"No turning back now!" Rob shouts over the roar of the troop transport's engine, the rumble of the tyres, and the rushing of the wind.

"Wouldn't turn back, even if I could!" Hanna yells back, spirits high.

"Not feeling nervous?"

"Too excited to be nervous!"

"I imagine Maria's bouncing all over the place right now!"

* * *

In the truck behind, Maria is indeed feeling rather bouncy. However, the transport is a little cramped, and her small size means she is tucked away in a corner. Her comfort is further impeded by the hulking form of Xander alongside.

"Oi! Budge up! I can barely move!" Maria shouts over the noise of the troop transport.

"I'm giving you all the room I can!" Xander protests.

"Why don't you try swapping seats?" Danny yells from his seat opposite Maria.

Maria thinks for a moment. "I'd rather be squished than sit next to a smelly soldier!"

"Then shush and try to enjoy the ride!"

* * *

"I can see the temple!" Rob announces.

Hanna leans back to look behind Rob, down the flank of the vehicle. "It's been six years since I last saw this place…" She notices two figures a short distance in front of the temple, directly in the convoy's path. "Who are those- _What are_ they _doing here?_ "

"Who?"

" _Lilac and Carol!_ "

" _Who?_ "

" _We're going to ram them!_ "

"I don't like how much you're enjoying that fact!"

" _Darn it!_ "

"What now?"

"They dived out the way!" Hanna replies, switching from leaning back over the side to leaning forwards over the tailgate. However, the dust kicked up by the convoy hides the girls from her view. Suddenly, the transport lurches. Hanna is flung to the floor as the transport bounces over the rubble left by the lead vehicle's battering ram.

"What on Avalice is the driver up to?" Hanna yells through gritted teeth.

"His job," Rob shouts back, helping Hanna back into her seat. "Now let's focus on ours."

"I'd rather stop and teach those do-gooders a lesson or three," Hanna grumbles, flashing her claws. "Clearly they're here to stop us."

"How on Avalice would _they_ know what we're up to?" Rob asks, annoyed by Hanna's loss of focus.

"That interfering dragon has a habit of showing up where there's trouble, and always with her annoying cat friend in tow," Hanna spits with undisguised venom. "I don't believe it's coincidental. At all."

"Whatever, it doesn't matter. We can't be stopped now."


	6. Chapter 6

[Location: Fringes of Relic Maze]

The truck slews to a halt. Danny and Xander leap off the back of the truck, but Maria is forced to wait for the soldiers to disembark before joining her friends.

"Soldiers are so mean!" she complains. "Don't they believe in 'women and children first'?"

"That's only on sinking ships," Danny reminds.

"Should apply everywhere," Maria mumbles.

"Are we going to waste our time complaining, or are we gonna do something useful?" Xander asks.

"Something useful," Danny replies. "We're gonna do what we came here to do: open the way to the Kingdom Stone."

The three Scarves scurry to a nearby maze of foliage and ten-foot-high walls.

"OK, somewhere in here is a control panel of some sort," Danny informs. "Split up. If you find the panel, call out, and we'll reunite. And watch out for traps."

The trio splits up and begins their search. After a few minutes, Maria finds their target.

"I've found it!" she cries out, jumping for joy. "It's over hereAAAAAAAH!"

"Maria?" Danny and Xander call out simultaneously.

"I need a little help!" she responds.

Danny and Xander converge on Maria's location a minute later, where they see the control panel, but no sign of the lynx.

"Where is she?" Xander asks, a little puzzled.

"Look up you big silly!" Maria snaps. Danny and Xander do so to see Maria, suspended by her feet, hanging twenty feet up from the snare trap she triggered.

"I told you to look for traps!" Danny teases. "At least you're wearing shorts!"

"Just get me down!" Maria demands.

"In a minute! Gonna sort out this control panel first…" Danny approaches the control panel, wary of triggering another trap, but there is only the one Maria is hanging from. "Now, need to make sure I input the right combination…"

After a couple of minutes studying the control panel, Xander loses patience. He storms up to the panel and slams a tonfa right through the centre: the panel dies in a shower of sparks.

"What are you doing?" Danny demands in surprise.

"Opening the way to the Kingdom Stone," Xander responds.

"By smashing the controls?"

"It worked," Maria informs from her inverted vantage point. "A whole section of wall just disappeared, and the convoy's going through."

"Really?" Danny asks.

"Yes," Maria confirms. "Now, _get me down from here!_ "

"Say please!" Danny teases. Maria's tanto embeds itself point-first on the tip of Danny's boot, just missing the foot inside. Danny sighs in mock exasperation. "Good enough for me. Xander, get ready to catch."

Danny pulls the tanto from his boot and uses it to cut the rope holding Maria in the air. As Maria falls, she twists to make herself easier to catch, but Xander fumbles. Maria lands hard on her tail, retaliating by slashing Xander's shin with her claws, just enough to draw blood.

"That's what you get for dropping me," Maria smirks as Xander bandages his shin.

"If it wasn't for me, you'd have been seriously hurt," Xander counters.

"Enough arguing, you two," Danny interrupts. "We should push deeper, see if we can be useful elsewhere."

Xander finishes his bandaging while Maria unties her feet and checks her hips still work correctly. Both satisfied, the trio push deeper into Relic Maze.


	7. Chapter 7

[Location: Deep inside Relic Maze]

The truck slews to a halt. Hanna and Rob jump off the back and approach a hole dug only moments before, where rappelling equipment has been set up, along with a winch.

"Looks like he's already in there," Rob observes.

Hanna and Rob lay by the hole, binoculars out, watching Spade strap a harness around the Stone.

"This is it," Rob breathes.

"Really?" Hanna asks. "Glad you told me, I wouldn't have known otherwise."

"Shouldn't one of us be keeping a lookout?"

Hanna takes a look around. "Nothing's coming, so we're safe for a while yet. Besides, I'd hear them in plenty of time."

"You're gonna want to see this."

"See what?" Hanna returns her attentions to the cavern below, spotting Lilac and Carol. "See? I _told_ you Miss Goody-Blue-Boots was here for a reason!"

"Not like they can stop us anyway," Rob assures. "After all, what can two young girls do? It's not like they're gonna save the world, is it?"

"If they ever do, I'll eat my nunchaku."

"Wood or metal?"

"Wood, obviously."

"Good choice, good source of fibre."

"Should have a nice crunch too."

"He's on his way up."

"It's hard to believe we're actually _stealing_ that thing…"

Hanna and Rob back away from the hole to allow Spade to surface with the Kingdom Stone.

"Give me a hand with this thing," Spade requests.

Rob helps Spade load the Stone onto the waiting truck, while Hanna returns to watching Lilac and Carol.

"I recommend laying low for a few days," Spade advises. "No doubt Shang Tu will eventually mobilise to reclaim the Stone."

"What about yourself?" Rob asks.

"I'll be fine," Spade answers as he climbs aboard the truck. "I have… connections."

The truck speeds off into the distance.

"Anything interesting happening down there?" Rob asks, rejoining Hanna.

"Yes," Hanna confirms. "There's some big… _thing_ … waking up. Could it be-"

A blood-curdling screech echoes through the cavern below. Hanna and Rob share a look of terror.

"The legends…" Hanna gasps.

"…are true," Rob finishes.

"Run?"

"Run."

They run.


	8. Chapter 8

"Did you hear that?" Maria chirps.

"Hear what?" Xander asks.

"That weird screeching!" Maria answers. "I'm gonna go see what it is!"

Xander makes to reply, but Maria is already sprinting away. She runs around a wall, straight into a fleeing Hanna. Hanna's greater weight and momentum means Maria is the first to hit the ground as they roll over each other. When the dust settles, Maria is laying on top of Hanna. Rob appears a fraction of a second later, also fleeing. He tries to halt, but it's too late: he slides, trips, and falls forwards on top of them both.

"Graceful," Danny quips.

"I think my eyes are broken," Hanna grumbles, a little dazed. "The world is all sideways. And the gravity's gone weird."

"Your eyes aren't broken," Rob assures. "You slammed into Maria, and now she's using you as a mattress."

"That explains the weight on my chest," Hanna sighs. "Maria, can you get off me?"

"I don't wanna go to school today…" Maria mumbles, disoriented by her collision and tumble.

"Oh great," Hanna groans, "I'm a concussed lynx's bed."

"Why can't I have ice cream for breakfast?" Maria continues.

"Correction: _delirious_ concussed lynx," Hanna growls, propping herself up on her elbows.

The motion stirs Maria from her befuddlement. She raises her head, meeting Hanna's annoyed stare. "Hi!" Maria chirps. "You look fuzzy."

"Of course I look fuzzy: I _am_ fuzzy," Hanna replies. "Now get off me."

"Your eyes look fuzzy too though. In fact, everything looks fuzzy…" Maria looks over her shoulder. "Oh, and I'm pinned down by your boyfriend. He also looks fuzzy."

"Sorry," Rob apologises, standing up. Once free, Maria struggles onto her feet, Hanna picking herself up a moment later.

"I take it you were running from the screech Maria heard?" Danny asks.

"You would too if you heard it clearly," Rob confirms.

"Is the world spinning?" Maria asks, swaying. "And do we have any sick bags?"

"No, and no," Xander replies.

"Oh poo," Maria groans. "Excuse me a minute." She stumbles unsteadily behind a nearby bush to vomit in private.

"Ew," Hanna mumbles, mentally cursing her sensitive hearing. "Seems I hit her harder than I thought."

"I made room for dessert," Maria quips as she staggers back.

"We should get her home," Danny suggests. "Xander, do you mind carrying her?"

"So long as she doesn't throw up again," Xander agrees, picking Maria up.

The dazed lynx wraps her arms around the wolf's neck, her legs around his torso, and rests her head on his shoulder. "Giddy up, horsey," she mumbles.

Xander sighs in bemusement.

As the group begins to leave, Hanna hears a distressed call carried on the breeze. Pausing to listen properly, she hears the call repeated: this time, Carol answers Lilac's call.

"What have you heard?" Rob asks.

"They survived," Hanna growls.

"You know how resourceful those two are."

"But what if-"

"What can they do? Nothing. No-one will believe them anyway, even if they try."

"I guess you're right," Hanna sighs. A moment later, she and Rob catch up with the others and continue their retreat to Jade Creek.


End file.
